ADB secures 1st Green Climate Fund for China

MANILA: The Green Climate Fund (GCF) approved on Thursday 100 million U.S. dollars in funding for an Asian Development Bank (ADB) project in eastern China's Shandong province that will showcase new ways to mobilize private, institutional and commercial financing for climate change mitigation and adaptation.

The Manila-based bank said this is the first GCF funding for China to establish the Shandong Green Development Fund (SGDF) and catalyze climate finance for a variety of climate sub-projects. The fund will apply GCF's Investment Framework and leverage transformational investments in Shandong with climate benefits, the ADB added.

ADB approved 88.73 million euros (roughly 100 million U.S. dollars) of loans for the SGDF project on Sept. 26. It said a German banking group is providing additional co-financing while the French Development Agency will present the cofinancing opportunity to its board for approval in December.

According to the bank, the SGDF will function as the financial arm of the Shandong provincial government to support its ambitious climate change targets and attract private investors to climate change projects. "Many parts of China and other Asian countries face similar challenges to Shandong. We are confident that this project will have a strong demonstration value on how Asian economies can shift to a low-carbon and sustainable growth trajectory," ADB Director General for East Asia Amy Leung said.

"The fund will pilot new ways to attract private sector funding and know-how that can be replicated elsewhere," she added. GCF, based in Songdo, South Korea, is a global fund created to support the efforts of developing countries to respond to the challenge of climate change. It was established in 2010 to limit or reduce greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries and regions, and catalyze a flow of climate finance to invest in low-emission and climate-resilient development.

ADB has been an accredited entity of the GCF since 2015 and has received 10 funding approvals totaling 473 million U.S. dollars since then.